


take a little love from me

by put-out-the-fire (Livinei)



Category: Queen (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, also theyre both in college, but we love that, definitions of a gay disaster, they're both hot messes, they're both whipped, theyre Young
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-07-28 22:42:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20071816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Livinei/pseuds/put-out-the-fire
Summary: Roger had only planned on sitting in the coffee shop until it closed to study for his test. Buying a cocoa for a hot stranger wasn't planned. Falling in love with himdefinitelynot.





	take a little love from me

**Author's Note:**

> okay so i wrote this a while ago and ngl it was only going to be read by two of my good friends, i didn't plan on posting it. but welp a minute has passed and it is currently midnight and the part of my brain that would argue against posting it is asleep so here it is i guess!  
enjoy!

The first time they met was a coincidence.

Roger chewed on the end of his pen, flicking between pages of his textbook to find a fleeting thought he knew he should take note of, the words having crossed his eyes for just a second before disappearing again as he’d absently been flipping the book. It was a cool and drizzly evening, the kind that left a shiver in your bones and begged you to find a place indoors, didn’t invite you to do anything, and Roger wasn’t really in a mood for anything but the notes weren’t going to take themselves. He had a test approaching. 

The door opened, bringing in a wave of fresh air and a person. Roger briefly looked up when he took a sip of his coffee, giving the newcomer a look as long as possible without it being weird because _ anything _ was more interesting than his textbook at this moment, before diligently lowering his eyes to the pages again. Biology was interesting! Just not _ today _.

“Gram positive… single layer… no outer membrane… 8 to 1,” he quietly mumbled along to the pen scratching on the paper, trying to focus. The cafe would close in less than two hours and he knew if he was already having trouble now, he definitely wouldn’t be doing much studying after getting back to his dorm. 

He flipped the page.

Eventually, Roger almost managed to forget that another person was there in the quietness of the empty coffee shop, the only other sounds in the room being the muted background music and quiet whirring of some electronics.

Freddie wasn’t sure what to do. He hadn’t really been to this particular place before, but the depressed weather called for a warm drink, he had an assignment to finish, and this place seemed cozy enough, and not too crowded. Well, not crowded at all. There was this one blond boy absorbed in his textbook – a student as well, Freddie thought, though a passing glance at the notes made him suspect that definitely not in arts – but other than that there was no one _ there. _ No barista. 

Freddie awkwardly shifted his weight from one leg to the other, leaning against the counter and fiddling with a sugar packet as he waited. Checked his phone. Fiddled some more. Several minutes passed._ ‘Maybe I should just leave and find somewhere else? Or I could just sit and get started on my things and order when someone comes...’ _

“Uh, sorry, darling,” he eventually spoke up, in a soft tone as if he was gently trying to wake someone up, not wanting to disrupt the calm stillness of the cafe by talking too loudly nor disturb the blond – though _ that _he was doing either way. The boy looked at him, eyes wide and curious, and Freddie gave an apologetic smile. “Do you know if the barista is on a break?”

Roger looked around, finally fully registering that the cafe was, in fact, empty.

“Oh. I’m not sure, but he shouldn’t be,” he replied, a puzzled frown appearing on his face, and stood up from his seat, craning his head towards the back room door, before looking back at the other guy who now gave a little smile, as if saying _ ‘oh well, that’s alright, sorry for bothering you’. _

“Okay. I’ll just– take a seat and wait then, I suppose. Thanks anyways,” Freddie said, moving towards an empty table on the other end of the cafe, but turned back around at the voice before he could take as much as a step.

“No, wait, uh-” the blond boy was calling out, stepping out from between his seat and his table and almost tripping as his foot got caught in the strap of his messenger bag on the floor. Freddie shot out his arm to steady him but he managed to catch his balance himself before falling, red tinting his cheeks, and shot a bashful smile in Freddie’s direction.

_ ‘Smooth going,’ _ said the sarcastic little voice in Roger’s head, mocking his embarrassment. _ ‘Why don’t you actually fall on him while you’re at it, huh?’ _

“You’ve waited for a while already. What do you want?” he continued, pretending that nothing had happened, moving behind the counter and grabbing a cup, then looking at the other expectantly. Now finally _ actually _ paying full attention to the guy, Roger took note of the sharp, pretty lines of his face, the slight frizz in his dark hair from the dampness outside, long lashes and warm brown eyes that were currently wide with dismay. _ ‘Oh boy,’ _the gay part of his brain helpfully whispered.

“Are you allowed to go there?” Freddie quickly said, casting an agitated look towards the door to the back, “I don’t want you to get in trouble.” 

“I work here,” Roger smiled, taking a sticky note and scribbling his name on it before sticking it to his sweater, and despite the alarmed expression the guy’s lips twitched upwards. 

“I do! Well, I’m not supposed to be working _ tonight _,” Roger amended, “but seeing as Brian has decided to disappear, I can step in for a moment. What can I get you?” 

“I- Okay, just a hot cocoa, please,” Freddie replied, relaxing a bit and watching as he – Roger, apparently, as the somehow legible letters on the sticky note supplied – got to work after a ‘here or to go?’. 

He was pretty. _ Really _ pretty. That hair looked _ disrespectfully _soft.

_ ‘H e y. Blond guys aren’t your type. Moreover, _ guys _ probably aren’t _ his _ type,’ _Freddie told himself, thanking Roger as the steaming cup was given his way along with a grin that made Freddie critically question whether his not being into blond guys was as exceptionless as he’d thought. 

It would seem that it wasn’t.

“That’s pound fifty, yeah?” he asked, fishing out his wallet, and Roger shook his head, getting back out from behind the counter and tossing his makeshift name tag on the countertop. 

“Don’t worry about it, it’s on me,” Roger said, and Freddie looked almost startled.

“Oh, no, I can’t–” 

“Hey, it’s to make up for this dreadful service! You were waiting for like ten minutes, I should have noticed,” Roger said, and meant that part, though the look that was directed at him didn’t seem to agree, “And hey, it’s just one fifty, innit? I can just take it back from Brian’s tips if I’m short of it sometime, because he should have been here, and he’d insist on paying for your cocoa anyways if he knew. Just take it.” 

Not that Roger was planning on taking the money back from Brian. Although _ thoroughly reasoned _, paying for this guy’s drink was something he wanted to have on his list of things done, from his own money.

The resisting expression on his face mellowed out and was replaced by a softer one that transitioned into a wider smile that Freddie instinctively tried to hide by ducking his head, and Roger’s stomach fluttered.

“Well, thank you,” Freddie said, looking at him with such heartfelt gratitude that Roger wanted to go and hide under the counter with the spare syrup bottles and never come out. “If you won’t take my money, is there at least anything else I can do to repay you?”

“No, it’s fine,” Roger replied in a voice slightly higher than usual, accompanied by a shaky breathless chuckle and the feeling of heat creeping up his neck to his face and the horrifying realization that he suddenly wasn’t sure he remembered how to intentionally form coherent sentences._ ‘Ask his name ask his name ask his name ask his name-’ _

“I’m– gonna, uh, go and solve the mystery of our missing barista.”

_ ‘Yeah, okay, run away. Cool.’ _

Looking after Roger retreating into the staff room, Freddie became certain that yeah, there were some exceptional blond guys that he appeared to be attracted to.

***

The second time they met wasn't as much of a coincidence, though it might have seemed like it from Roger’s end.

It was a bit more than a week later, and he was on duty this time, along with Brian, handling the steady but far from overwhelming stream of customers (most of whom were students).

Roger wouldn't be proud to admit that his first impulse upon seeing the hot cocoa guy walk up to him was to duck and hide behind the counter. He _ didn’t, _ of course. And the other part of him was _ excited _that he came back. But that thought did cross his head.

_ ‘We’re not going into gay panic this time. We’re not. It’s a human person that you happen to find visually attractive, not a walking IED. Get it together.’ _ Roger firmly told himself.

As soon as he saw the smile, he found he maybe would have preferred a bomb. At least with a bomb when you fuck up it’ll kill you on the spot and that’s that, quick and painless. With a person he’d have to suffer the mental agony which was a thousand times more terrible. 

“Hey! Roger, right?” Freddie said as a greeting. As if he didn’t remember Roger’s name. As if he hadn’t slipped the sticky note into his pocket after Roger had gone searching for the barista. As if Roger wasn’t wearing an _actual_ _name tag _this time. _‘How do I completely erase a social interaction from everyone’s memory and start it again from the top?’_ Thankfully, Roger hadn’t seemed to notice or care.

“Yeah! You have me at a disadvantage.” _ ‘You have me at a disadvantage because instead of just asking your name the last time I fucking escaped like a coward and then could barely look at you upon coming back.’ _

“It’s Freddie,” Freddie said with a bright smile he forgot to hide until a moment later, and Roger nearly dropped the spoon he was holding, going legally braindead for a hot second.

“Oh, cool,” he responded, staring at the till to recover from the smile and remember what exactly he was getting paid for again. He could feel Brian’s eyes on him.

“Er, what can I get you? Hot cocoa?” he continued, getting back on track. Thank god. 

“You got it,” Freddie replied, and took the chance to study Roger yet again as he started to complete the order. He was wearing a floral-patterned shirt this time, and a small smile tugged at Freddie’s lips as he noticed the rainbow-striped suspenders peeking out from under the black apron that he presumed served as the work uniform. _ ‘Hmm, okay…’ _

“You have a dazzling fashion sense, darling,” he mentioned, knowing well what most conventional straight guys would assume of his statement if they heard it and saw him looking at their rainbow suspenders at the same time. He’d get either more or less concealed offense or embarrassment over the _ implication _ that they’re not straight, discomfort, a statement to subtly convey their heterosexuality. He met none of that.

Instead he was suddenly witnessing the absolutely _ delightful _sight of Roger’s face turning as red as the poppies on his shirt, and the ‘thanks’ he managed to choke out after a moment of stuttering sounded more like a squeak than anything. Freddie felt giddy. 

“Is that the guy from last week, when I fell asleep? Which, I _ still _ can’t believe you didn’t wake me up before it was fuckin’ _ closing time _,” Brian asked when Freddie was out of hearing range, hissing the last part.

“Well, I still can’t believe you fell asleep in the back while being the only person on duty,” Roger retorted, face still flushed though he was trying his best to overcome it. “Look, if anyone else would’ve come in I’d have served them, obviously, but he was the only one anyways. And I can’t remember the last time you didn’t have dark circles under your eyes, letting you sleep seemed like the humane thing to do. But anyways, yeah, that’s that guy.” 

Brian hummed, a clueful smirk rising to his lips as he watched Roger sneak a glance towards the table where Freddie had pulled out a laptop and a sketchbook, before staring away again. 

“Seems like the bigger wave of those whose afternoon classes just ended has passed. You can go and sit with him if you want, I can handle this on my own for now,” Brian suggested, looking way too amused at the glare sent his way.

“Fuck off.”

***

For some reason, Freddie kept coming back. Maybe he really liked the cocoa. By fourth time Roger worked up the nerve to succumb to Brian’s relentless pestering and join Freddie at his usual table in the corner when it was a quiet moment and Roger’s break was nigh. 

By sixth time he was able to somehow ignore the butterflies in his stomach and hold a semi-intelligent conversation. 

By twentieth time he realized his little crush that had begun primarily from Freddie’s looks was swiftly and surely dipping into something entirely more serious, the more he got to know him.

Sometimes Roger gave Freddie his drink on the house, because it was one of the only almost-moves he dared to consciously make, actually clearly expressing that he liked him being too much for Roger.

Sometimes Freddie bought both a hot cocoa for himself and a coffee for Roger, and though Roger resisted at first he couldn’t help but feel, in a _ little _ way, just a bit special.

Sometimes their hands would accidentally touch, and something in the air would still for a fleeting moment before carrying on.

Sometimes Roger sat down next to Freddie instead of across from him and would accidentally end up too close, thigh against thigh, and wouldn’t scoot away.

Sometimes in a laughing fit they would lean on each other, and there would be a moment, after the laughing tamed but before they leaned back away from each other, when they were just _ close._

This carried on for four months. Brian told him he was being ridiculous and should just ask him out already, but Roger was willing to accept that this was just how it was going to be. Freddie was his friend. His friend who he was thoroughly smitten with. Which he probably wasn’t ever going to speak into existence. That was that.

Freddie was laughing, and angels were singing, and it was a wonderous thing. If Roger could keep making him laugh even just once every day until the rest of their lives he’d die a happy man. Roger’s mouth was probably slightly agape as he stared and in that moment he didn’t even care, only absorbing the moment.

“Why are you always covering your mouth? You have a beautiful smile, I like it,” Roger blurted out, because he was an absolute _ fool who couldn’t think for a second before opening his dumb mouth. _

For five agonizingly long seconds, they were staring at each other in shock, both growing increasingly redder by the second. Roger felt like he’d just slammed a big glowing self-destruct button and was now watching the horrible flickering countdown leading to his inevitable doom. He couldn’t fucking _ breathe. _

“I’m– I– I mean–” 

What could he even say? That he didn’t mean that and Fred _ didn’t _ have a beautiful smile? No. Jesus, why couldn’t he have said ‘nice’ or literally _ any _other more neutral adjective that existed in the English language?

“I mean...like, in a...friend...sort of…way..?” Roger feebly tried, disproving his earlier belief that at least he couldn’t fuck it up even further, a _ ‘did you seriously just utter _ those _ words with your own mouth, out loud?!’ _ echoing in his panicked brain. 

The look Freddie was staring at him with was _ strange _. Roger didn’t know what to make of it. Didn’t dare to even try, to be honest. 

Freddie opened his mouth, taking in a deep breath, and Roger braced himself, expecting him to say something, _ something _…

“Can I kiss you?”

Not that. 

Roger thought he might be having a heart attack. 

“Sorry what?” he asked, feverishly scanning Fred’s face for traces of joking, sarcasm, anything, and found none.

“Kiss you. Can I kiss you?” Freddie repeated, the strange look still present, and now Roger could recognize something determined in it. Something that was done waiting. Something that wanted _ him, _ but still wanted to be assured that he was okay with it.

“Yes please,” Roger somehow managed to say, heart in his throat and eyes wide.

Freddie did.

It wasn’t wild or hurried, but rather it was sure and sweet and all lips, lasting for several seconds and lingering near for a moment before pulling away, and Roger was _ gone, _ floating somewhere around the orbit of Neptune, everything inside him on _ fire _. 

Freddie’s heart was hammering out of his chest, eyes a bit hazy for a moment when he pulled his lips away and released a shaky breath but left his hand on Roger’s wrist. 

“After your shift is done, do you wanna go–”

“Yes.”

“–anywhere else that isn’t the cafe where you work at that’s full of people who’ve seen both of us often enough?”

“_ Yes. _” 

“Wonderful. It’s a date then.” 

_ ‘Seems like Brian might have had the right idea after all.’ _

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed, and dont be shy to leave a comment and let me know what you think! anyways, thank you for reading!


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